Written piece
Making Zhang
Soo Liang Tan
Malaysia
About this piece
The story brings sweet memories back of the time I spent with my late grandmother, and late mom. I weep whenever I read anything I wrote about my late mom. Guess I still miss her very much. Sharing this story to inspire others to always carry on with the family traditions.
AhMar, my maternal grandmother, held court in the sun-dappled kitchen with its rotting plank walls and zinc roof. Berkemban, rokok daun hanging from her mouth, swearing in Hakka, Hokkien, Malay and Tamil, attended by daughters and daughters-in-law. Empress and commander, barking out orders.
In those days, the kitchen was women’s work. I was drawn to it although a grandson.
AhMar and the clan lived in a compound in Bukit Mertajam but we lived in a two-bedroom walk-up with electricity, piped water and flush toilets in Kuala Lumpur!
AhMar making zhang was a precision exercise.
Bamboo leaves were dried. Duck eggs salted, glutinous rice washed and dried, pork bellies cured. AhMar made soy sauce, rice wine, ground five-spice powder.
The smell of fried glutinous rice with shallots, well-seasoned braised pork belly and mushrooms was intoxicating.
AhMar would form a pocket with two bamboo leaves, add glutinous rice, goodies, more rice and in one smooth motion wrap a plump pyramid.
My job was to tie the zhang. AhMar said one loose knot, the zhang would fall apart.
The smell of zhang, boiled bamboo leaves from huge cauldrons of simmering water reminds me of AhMar.
Ma didn’t make zhang. She told stories of the big city, shopping centers and supermarkets.
Ma lives with us now, wheelchair-bound with Parkinson’s disease. During one of her lucid stretches, she mentioned zhang.
I found zhang recipes, bought the fixings, and we got down to it.
Cooking was easy but I couldn’t wrap the zhang despite watching many tutorials.
Ma rolled in, folded leaves into a pocket. I filled. In one smooth motion, she folded a plump pyramid. My daughter secured the zhang with string. We asked her to repeat slowly, which she did with pride.